Look for regular blogging to resume sometime this afternoon....

UPDATE (8/3/04): Well, that didn't exactly go as planned. Long story short: My doctor's appointment yesterday morning turned up a couple of those "welcome to forty"-style problems that (almost) middle-aged flesh is heir to, and I've been spending most of my time since in out-of-town waiting rooms of one kind or another. If all goes well, I should be back to blogging by tomorrow or Thursday.

Thanks as always for your patience, and I hope to see you soon.

FINAL UPDATE (8/10/04): Sorry about the long break, but, I, uh, ... well, I had my reasons, and since this ain't Oprah, I won't bore you with them. I'll probably start back slowly -- I'm almost as far behind at work as I am here -- but the blog is now officially back in business.

POSTSCRIPT: Thanks again for your patience, and for all the kind e-mails I got while I was away. I really appreciate it.

--------